Are Two Teens in a Car One Teen Too Many?

The teenage tradition of piling in as many friends into a car before hitting the road may become something of a legend to new young drivers in many of the states now enacting laws to limit the amount of teens per car. Cruising with friends, going on double dates, or even just giving your sister a ride to school is something many teens are now unable to do without breaking the law.

The New York Times reports about the new laws that limit the amount of young people that can ride in a car together in an effort to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities. There are now 15 states that limit the amount of teens that can ride without an adult present and 7 of those states do not even allow one other teen to ride with a teen driver.

To many teens and some parents these new laws have drawn criticism that they are too harsh and make transportation to and from school more difficult when a teen can not even give her brother or sister a ride. But to others the laws make perfect sense especially when realizing that the leading cause of death for teenagers is car crashes and teens also are four times more likely to crash than older drivers.

Director of state relations for AAA, Justin McNaull, explains why he believes the laws make sense even though they may put a burden on some teens and their families. McNaull says, “We don’t want to say that teens are a menace to us all, but the reality is, when teen drivers crash, it’s people in other cars or teen passengers who end up dying. You go back to ‘Grease’ and ‘American Graffiti’ to understand the love of youngsters and their vehicles. But we understand now so much better the risks that are involved.”

What do you think of some of the new laws states are enacting that limit the amount of teens in cars?Do you allow your teen to drive with their friends?

Do you think limiting the amount of teens that can ride in a car together will reduce the amount of accidents?